Hans Blank was born in the Netherlands, attending the Royal Academy of Expressive Visual Arts in Amsterdam under professor Grégoire and Esser. The course was quite comprehensive exploring oil painting, life drawing and various other painting techniques. In his early years in drawing Professor Tenge influenced him. By 1975 he had received the URIOT for his work. Ever since he has had numerous individual and group exhibitions worldwide.

Since 1990, Hans lives and works for a part of the year in Ireland – seeking inspiration from Celtic mythology and Irish history depicting subjects such as St Brendan’s voyage, Viking ships, Irish fishermen and his wonderful Celtic boats. He uses Celtic symbols and mystic metaphors, and each pieces unveils a mystery. Many of his Irish subjects are chronicled whilst staying in the country and look to the people, landscape and even the weather.

Working primarily in bronze , his preferred subjects are related to the sea and the ocean. Their consistent maritime character look to shipwrecks, dike workers, life boats, trawler crews, fishermen and many other nautical themes. They are powerful and accurate developed from a robust tradition linking Dutch and Irish tradition. Before commencing a large piece of sculpture he makes small sketches to define the idea. His preferred medium is block model wax because of the limitless possibilities and contexts it can produce. Certain ideas preoccupy him – ideas of decline, buildings, foundations, ships, wrecks, people, and materials falling into disrepair, archaism and archaeological subjects. Though primarily figurative, the details are somewhat abstract . In larger works details are secondary to form. Light and dark are also important in his work around contours and in highlighting shape and movement. He is concerned in capturing the impression so much so that every finger impress appears to be in the right place. His style is a personal statement to an outward expression with its roots in the visual world. It is a both cultural and national, yet deeply personal. In his own opinion he does not subscribe to any artistic movement, past or present. At times he uses artistic licence through the elongation of forms but this is to make the form stronger, more powerful and to entice an emotive reaction. Sometimes the actual material takes over, almost becoming the subject matter, even though the sculpture itself is figurative. Despite a deep feeling for Ireland he has remained true to his roots. Yet location does affect the way he approaches a subject matter though stylistically a similar artistic strain runs through all his sculpture connecting them each to his inevitable style.